This invention relates to a scanner for scanning an object, in particular a tooth or a plurality of teeth or a dental cast, and a device for determining the 3D coordinates of an object, in particular of a tooth or a plurality of teeth or a dental cast.
Devices and methods for determining the 3D coordinates of an object are known already. EP 299 490 B2 describes a method for making a dental prosthesis, in which contour lines on the ground tooth and its surroundings are produced, the lines are detected with an optoelectronic means, in particular a video camera, the detected values are entered in a computer, and the three-dimensional structure of the tooth and the dental prosthesis is calculated. By means of the structure thus calculated, the dental prosthesis can be fabricated.
However, the detection of the 3D coordinates of objects located in regions which are hard to reach, i.e. in particular of teeth in the oral cavity of a patient, involves certain difficulties.